Hi, Ric here with another index. A long time ago in a galaxy far, wait that’s already
wrong. But today’s species is a Star Wars one right? Well… for reasons that will soon
become evident, you’ll see that technically the Kaminoans are actually an extra-galactic
species native to the Star Wars universe. As a disclaimer, there will be some legends
materials mixed in to flesh them out as their canon history is rather well recorded but
lacks a surprising amount of cultural context. I’ll try to identify just when we’re talking
legends but most of it still meshes with what we’ve seen on screens.
First off, the Kamino System is actually “below” the Rishi Maze, a satellite dwarf galaxy to
the galaxy proper in which Star Wars takes place. It’s closer to this smaller orbiting
galaxy than the main one but kind of just drifts there in the Wild Space in between,
circling its single star alongside 12 other planets.
The planet Kamino has three moons, a 27 hour day and is now a water world, completely covered
in ocean and wracked be powerful storms, although this wasn’t always the case. Long ago, while
the Kaminoans were evolving as a society, their planet was originally a fairly standard
terrestrial world complete with icecaps. However their species came to prominence at the end
of an ice age and those extensive continental glaciers eventually melted. Over the generations,
the Kaminoans retreated from their shores to higher and higher dry points as the seas
rose until the eventually began to build cities on stilts above the waves even as the storms
encroached. As their situation grew dire, they chose not
to reach out to the Republic for help and instead turned towards perfecting their genetic
manipulation. They considered the risk of involving the Republic too great as they may
lose their homeworld through evacuation, colonisation and so on, so this shows that they were likely
a spacefaring species by this time. Legends places this at around 19,000 BBY. So instead,
they altered their own genome to better adapt themselves to their new oceanic climate and
preserve their genetic diversity among dwindling numbers. To this day, only one billion kaminoans
still live on the homeworld and they maintain their adherence to their strict genetic profiling.
Their cities are domed structures, kilometres wide and supported on robust pillars that
anchor to the seafloor. Rainfall and storms are frequent, although not continual so these
domes help with water runoff. Interestingly enough, their old cities that now lie flooded
under the waves are also domes suggesting that frequent rainfall has been an issue since
before their Great Flood. The capital city of Kamino is Tipoca where
the Ruling Council resides along with the office of the Prime Minister, Lama Su at the
time of the Clone Wars. Their cities also house fusion generators that extract hydrogen
from the abundant oceans. In Legends, their internal approach to survival
gave them a rather isolationist streak that remains to this day and they limit their contact
with outsiders. However, with such a near-extinction event wracking their planet, they eventually
had to turn to trade for outside resources. In exchange they began to offer their advanced
understanding of genetic code to build private militaries, labourers and security for select
discrete clientele who would supply them and respect their isolation. Which made Kamino’s
erasure from public record rather easy to accomplish. Of course their biggest project
by far was the Grand Army of the Republic, set in motion 10 years prior to the Clone
Wars. However, this drew the ire of the Republic’s enemy, the CiS and made Kamino a key military
target. At the close of the Clone Wars and the establishment of the Galactic Empire,
the Kaminoan cloning facilities geared for the Republic were shut down and by 19 BBY,
Kamino had faded into the background once more.
Biologically, the Kaminoans have adapted their own form to survive their extreme world but
the extent of their genetic modification is unknown. In legends they are said to have
always shared a connection to their seas and did evolve from primarily water dwelling creatures
so their amphibious nature is likely a natural trait. Their skin is smooth and pale, whitish-grey
sometimes with other tones. It looks to have a dolphin like texture, (which explains why
the Guys over at Generation Tech don’t trust them…) and they have elongated limbs and
necks leading them to be between 2 to 2.3 metres tall.
Their narrow and slender appearance gives them a graceful glide on land, but they have
limited flexibility because of this. The males had a crest on their head which the female
of the species lacked. They had two nostrils that descended into slits similar to those
found on rays and other fish used for smell. Although Kaminoans lack gills, and they also
breathe through their nose, unlike fish. But maybe they absorb oxygen through their skin
like other amphibious creatures do? We must dissect one to find out…
Their eyes are generally black with a grey iris however other pigmentations did exist.
In legends, there is a stigma attached to eye colour and those born with undesirable
eyes are perceived as a threat to their genepool and killed off. These eyes not only are ideal
for seeing beneath the water, they can see well into the ultraviolet spectrum of light.
UV light only penetrates the seas functionally about as far as visible light, (around 200m),
so I’m not sure as to the benefit of this. Theories below, I guess?
You average Kaminoan, takes 11 years to reach adulthood and ages to around 80 before natural
death without any genetic augmentation. Female Kaminoans often wore headdresses of
varying design that included tassels and beads as well as light tones of seeming makeup.
Kaminoan dress was a mixture of practicality and ornate with a skin tight under suit similar
to a diving suit worn under other garments. Suits, coats and dresses were worn over these
made from various materials which often extended into gowns at the base. These would be impractical
for swimming in, so they were probably worn for “inside” occasions. The long neck
was often protected too, either with a cloth wrap affixed with a broach or a high collar
to denote status. Aside from this, the colouration of their
garb was often in shades of pastels, greys and whites however, as they saw a shifted
EM wavelength when compared to humans, these sterile looking designs may not be plain as
they appear to outsiders. After all, as a very inner-focused species, why would they
dress to impress others whom they don’t care for?
This design philosophy extends to their surrounding architecture. Their graceful movement is mimicked
in their clean, curving stylistic choices and this combines with the seeming white walls
to create a clinical feel. Which is apt for their chosen profession.
Some say that their cold nature is a result of their society having survived a near-extinction
event and their embracing of genetic modification. They don’t trust others or even nature to
mould their own fates any more. They wrested back control of their world from environmental
disaster and have emerged aloof as a result. Mapping their genome and becoming experts
at cloning has further shaped this cultural norm into a genuine belief that they are superior
to others and only added to their isolationist attitude. They don’t seek to exacerbate
other powers in any outward xenophobia or anything like that, but it’s rather easy
to see them as simply arrogant. They treated their cloned products as a craftsman
would his own creations; critical and careful but not as alive. They therefore simply killed
faulty clones in their pursuit to uphold their reputation and craft. They respected goals
of self-improvement in others, and generally presented themselves in a calm and polite
manner. They restrained their emotions drastically, especially around other species adding to
this aloof demeanour and this has led them to become rather emotionally stunted. In legends,
there was a ballet called the Nahra where a Kaminoan was to let their emotional expression
dictate their moves. But outsiders who have witnessed this describe even this as disconcerting
and lacking emotion. Kaminoan is its own language and only those
who were expected to interact with the necessary outsiders would learn Galactic Basic. Their
names usually consist of a short two letter word and a longer one, although there are
exceptions. The Kaminoans travelled the surface of their
planet, not simply with craft but also with the Aiwha, a winged cetacean, and air whale…
oooh, air whale, ai-wha, I get it. Just as they altered themselves to survive Kamino’s
slow submergence, the Aiwha were modified too. These beasts could travel both beneath
the waves (where they would filter feed) and through the skies. Aside from this species,
there is a myriad of other oceanic life, as you’d expect and the small population of
land animals that the Kaminoans deigned to save from the rising waters in their domed
cities. Overall, they are a species that survived
a calamity by sacrificing much. They became cold and clinical out of necessity. Their
compassionless adoption of genetic augmentation and cloning kept them alive as a species and
gave them a sturdy foundation from which to engage with others in trade. From their point
of view, they see themselves as superior but don’t need to boast about it while tactfully
ignoring the fact that they need to trade with others to survive at times.
That’s a more or less canon depiction of the Kaminoans, with some legends and theorising
thrown in and if you liked this Index video, you can decide which topic I’ll tackle next
over on the community tab. There will be two options to choose from, bringing back some
close second placers from prior choices, the criminally-inclined Hutts of Star Wars fame
or the nefarious Nausicaans of Trek’s lore? Thanks again for watching, I’ve been Ric
and until the next one, goodbye!